The portable electric coffee maker has for many years been one of the most popular domestic electric appliances. The market for such appliances has included the full size coffee makers which have a capacity of ten to twelve cups and the smaller size coffee makers intended for use by individuals or small families requiring only a cup or two of coffee at a time. The market for the small coffee maker has developed largely as a consequence of the larger coffee makers being incapable of or inefficient in brewing small quantities of coffee. Another product which has gained in popularity and which meets the needs of the single person household is the electric water heater and dispenser which is adapted to heat very rapidly one or two cups of water to a temperature at or near the boiling point. This hot water is then used either in a drip coffee making attachment or to make instant tea or coffee. Such an attachment is shown in Gronwick, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,069,751. Examples of such water heating appliances are shown in the patents to Augustine, et al. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,878,360, Belinkoff 4,165,681 and Beckering, et al. 4,614,859. In all of these prior art patents the appliance is manually switched on to energized a heating element which heats the water, such energization terminating when a thermostat senses that the water has been brought up to the near boiling temperature. At that time, a manually controlled valve is used to dispense the heated water into a separate coffee making attachment or into a container for the instant tea, coffee, cocoa or other instant beverage making material. The Belinkoff patent includes a normally closed valve which is operated by a lever which is spring biased to the valve closing position. Means are provided to lock the lever in the valve open position so that it is not necessary to maintain pressure on the operating lever throughout the time in which the hot water is being dispensed.
It is also known in the art to provide coffee makers which the facility to make different types of coffee, i.e., expresso or cappuccino in the same coffee maker. It is also known in the art to provide a coffee maker with a multiple position valve which permits a coffee brewer to dispense hot water. The foregoing are disclosed in the patents to Knecht U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,204,465 and Lockett 3,179,035.